Salemtowne

Salemtowne is located on a part of the original Wachovia tract of land that was settled by the first Moravians in North Carolina. However, it had its beginning in 1887, six miles south in the early town of Salem.

A humble beginning in Salem

Definition. Dorcas societies are local groups of people, usually based in a church, with a mission of providing clothing to the poor. They are named after Dorcas, also called Tabitha, a person described in the Acts of the Apostles (Chapter 9, verse 36).

On October 18, 1887, women of the Dorcas Circle, a local Moravian service league in Salem established Salem Home to provide shelter and comfort to destitute, sick, and aged women. It was operated as a home, not as a hospital or an institution.

As the city of Salem grew, a more secular, industrial center developed just to its north and began to grow. In 1851, this new area officially became a city and was named Winston in honor of the prominent Revolutionary War hero and legislator, Major Joseph Winston.

In 1892, due to the generosity of service leagues, donations from all denominations of churches, and private donations, Salem Home was able to build a permanent building on the northeast corner of Main and Walnut Streets in Salem in 1889.

As the two successful, side-by-side cities of Winston and Salem gained prominence, it became clear that they could gain more from unification than they could from staying separate. So, in 1913, the cities of Winston and Salem officially became the city of Winston-Salem.

Present location

In 1972, Salem Home built a new facility, Moravian Retirement Home, to serve both men and women. It was built six miles north of its old location on land near Bethabara Historical Park that was part of the original die Wachau/Wachovia tract of land where the first Moravians had settled.

Moravian Home continued to serve the community and flourish. Over the next eighteen years, due to an increased demand for more capacity, more services, and higher levels of care, it built additional facilities and independent living apartments and cottages, and it kept growing.

When a new village of cottages was completed in 1990,  it was named Salemtowne Village, combining Salem from Salem Home with town, from its being located in the Old Town township,  In 1991, for marketing reasons, Salem Home changed its name to Moravian Home, Inc., doing business as Salemtowne, which led to Salemtowne Village being renamed to Salem Village. In 1998, the Salemtowne became a licensed CCRC. 

Salemtowne has grown a lot over the last century and it continues to grow to prepare for the onslaught of baby boomers who are accustomed to modern living and the use of technology.

Although Salemtowne has all the facilities and amenities of a modern life plan community, it still maintains the look and feel of a Moravian village. The campus is located on over 119 tree-covered acres, which includes a 4-acre fishing lake (or what some southerners call a pond).  Twenty-five of those acres are woodlands that are part of a designated Protected Tact and are a part of the Salemtowne Trail System.

Salemtowne is covered in greenery, not only are there hundreds of huge 100 to 200-year-old trees and natural flora, there much commercial landscaping and numerous species of memorial trees and flora that have been donated and planted over the decades. All this, along with the timeless, traditional Moravian architecture of all the buildings, makes Salemtowne one of the most beautiful retirement centers in the country. 

For residents, Salemtowne has miles of streets and sidewalks that provide for safe and easy walking on paved surfaces. It also has a large, protected courtyard and numerous designated green spaces. For residents who want to walk on unpaved natural trails, there are many woodland trails of varying length and difficulty. 

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